[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 143 (Monday, September 16, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E899]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE LIFE OF LOYAL MARTIN (MARTY) GRIFFIN, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 16, 2024

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Loyal Martin (Marty) 
Griffin Jr., MD, MPH who passed away on May 22, 2024, at the age of 
103. Marty was a trailblazing environmental leader, renowned for his 
early focus on the intersectionality of healthcare and the environment. 
He made profound impacts on both fields.
  Born in 1920 and raised in a mountain cabin along the Ogden River in 
Utah, Marty developed an appreciation of nature at an early age. His 
family moved to the West Coast during the Depression, eventually 
settling in Oakland, California where Marty was an Eagle Scout and the 
valedictorian of Oakland Technical High School. He earned a zoology 
degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1942 and worked 
night shifts in the Richmond shipyards to afford Standford Medical 
School. After receiving his medical degree in 1946, Marty joined the 
United States Army Medical Corps and served as a captain during the end 
of World War II.
  Marty's career in the medical profession quickly expanded to include 
environmental work, as he recognized the convergence of these two 
fields and their relationship to public health. He became a 
distinguished physician in Marin County, establishing the Ross Valley 
Clinic, Ross General Hospital, Tamalpais Retirement Center, and 
Kentfield Psychiatric Hospital. He also served as Chief of Medicine at 
both Marin General and Ross Hospitals.
  Marty returned to the University of California, Berkeley in 1972 
where he earned a master's degree in public health and subsequently 
became the Public Health Director of the Sonoma Developmental Center, a 
position he held for 15 years. In 1980, he was appointed Chief of the 
Hepatitis B, and later AIDS, Task Force for 11 state hospitals. In 
1989, he received the Gold Medal for Superior Medical Accomplishment 
from the State of California.
  Marty's passion for land preservation and environmental education 
extended beyond his professional career. In 1961, he founded Audubon 
Canyon Ranch, which now includes 5,000 acres of wildlife sanctuaries 
throughout the Bay Area and Sonoma County and is a model of 
conservation education. This land created the ``gateway'' to the Point 
Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area that 
were later established in 1962 and 1972. Marty also cofounded the 
Environmental Forum of Marin, and he served as an elected official as a 
director of the Marin Municipal Water District. He created a model for 
watershed management plans through his founding of the Russian River 
Task Farce, Friends of the Russian River, and the Russian River 
Environmental Forum. Beyond California, Marty helped establish a 
20,000-acre preserve in Haleakala National Park and participated in 
wildlife efforts in Nepal.
  Marty's lifetime of work inspired many, including the documentarians 
Nancy Kelly and Kenji Yamamoto who, in 2013, created the film Rebels 
with a Cause, detailing his and other local conservationists' fight to 
stop development along the Marin County coastline. What would have been 
a large development is now public land enjoyed by thousands of visitors 
every year in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Known fondly as 
``the nature doctor'' and ``the doctor with mud on his shoes,'' Marty 
is survived by his wife, Joyce Griffin; daughters Linda Henke, Anne 
Oliver, Carol Griffin and Joanie Griffin; stepson Brian Nielsen; and 
five grandchildren. He is predeceased by his granddaughter, Gina Marin 
Monaco, who passed in 1998 at age 15 from leukemia.
  Mr. Speaker, Martin Griffin was an innovative leader who never shied 
from an opportunity to advocate for our environment and the health of 
future generations. It was my privilege to know Marty and consider him 
a friend. His legacy in Marin County, California, and beyond cannot be 
understated. I respectfully ask that you join me in expressing my 
appreciation for his lifetime of good work.

                          ____________________